Maybe it was because we were cruising in on Route 66 and having listened to our "road trip" CD for the 200th time had put us in some sort of existential hypnotic trance. Or maybe it was just because this was the first place we were moving that didn't have an expiration date tied to it . . . we might actually stay. . .
A Little Background on Us
Guillaume and I met five years ago while modeling in Barcelona, and one of the perks of modeling is that you get the chance to travel, if you want it, so moving around was something we just sort of did, it was never really a big deal. We had made a lot of friends and explored some amazing places, however, let's be real, it's not the most fulfilling or long-lived of careers.
Most recently we lived in Manhattan, which at a year and a half became a much longer stint than we had anticipated. While we still dabbled in modeling when the money was right, in New York we studied diligently with some really top people and started referring to ourselves as “actors”.
Kelsie's and Yogi's first Californian sunset
We started booking some good commercials and low budget films but we're beach kids at heart. And the time came when we had to decide to leave now or maybe forever hold our peace. The idea of the Hollywood dream. leftover hippie vibrations, sunshine and fish tacos was too much for us to bear. So once again, we packed up . . . and this time we headed west.
We had no jobs lined up and no house arranged, just a really cool cousin in Hermosa Beach who lent us her daughter's bedroom. Perfect.
Hello, L.A. !
As we drove through the desert and into California foot hills we felt like kids on the first day of school. Curious. Excited. Apprehensive. All sorts of epic. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we had just gotten done with a two week cross country road trip and our car was loaded with all our worldly possessions and our beloved dog Yogi.
We quickly got down to business, exploring neighborhoods and apartment hunting, emailing real-estate agents, managers and acting agencies. Contacting old friends and the elusive but often helpful, friend of a friend.
Yogi on the walk of fame
The best part though of starting from scratch is getting to play tourist. There's nothing like the high you get from a new environment: not like this was the most foreign landscape, but there is certainly a lot going on out here.
We had to visit the Hollywood walk of fame, and the world class skateboarders on Venice Beach . We had to learn to surf and play beach volleyball like locals. We had to meet with lots of agencies and managers and to audition. We had to find acting coaches we liked and new places to get our hair cut. We had to make friends and find traffic short cuts. We had to explore the new North, East, West and South, deserts and mountains and forests and oceans. We had our work as tourists cut out for us. . . Guillaume on the Venice boardwalk